My, how far we’ve come!

FOCUS assistant editor Gavin Myers visited the Franschhoek Motor Museum during the December break, and was fortunate to see some rare automotive treasures. Specific to FOCUS readers, he spotted two very special early Ford commercial vehicles.

The first is this Model T Panel Van dating from 1922. Far removed from what we know today, but setting the precedent nonetheless, the van featured a four-cylinder engine of 2 896 cm3 capacity. It produced all of 16,4 kW at 1 600 r/min, sent to the wheels through a two-speed transmission. We wonder just how much could have been lugged around with such little power … ?

This particular vehicle features upgrades introduced to the Model T commercial vehicle range during 1921. These included an apron between the running boards and the body as well as electric lights. It also had two upgrades introduced for the 1922 model year – an electric horn and a tool kit!

The Model T was replaced in 1928 by the Model A, which we will feature next week.